Glossary
Solar Panel Installer Terms & Vocabulary
15 essential solar panel installer terms with plain-English definitions: the vocabulary you’ll hear in training and on day one.
Key solar panel installer vocabulary
These 15 terms come up constantly in solar panel installer training, on the job and in interviews. Knowing them helps you follow instructions, document accurately and sound prepared.
- Array
- A group of connected modules.
- Azimuth
- The compass direction an array faces.
- Flashing
- Material that seals roof penetrations against water.
- Inverter
- Converts DC power from panels into AC power used in buildings.
- Kilowatt (kW)
- A unit of power; system size is rated in kW.
- Kilowatt-hour (kWh)
- A unit of energy: what utilities bill for.
- Microinverter
- A small inverter attached to each module.
- Module
- A solar panel made of connected PV cells.
- Net metering
- A billing arrangement crediting customers for excess solar power sent to the grid.
- Open-circuit voltage (Voc)
- The maximum voltage of a module or string with no load.
- Photovoltaic (PV)
- Technology that converts sunlight directly into electricity.
- Racking
- The mounting structure that holds modules.
- Rapid shutdown
- NEC-required capability to quickly reduce voltage on rooftop conductors for firefighter safety.
- String
- Modules wired in series to increase voltage.
- Tilt
- The angle of modules relative to horizontal.
Practice these terms
Test yourself with the free Solar Panel Installer practice test: it includes vocabulary questions built from this list. For a complete course, see Solar Panel Installer training.
Browse terms from every career in our career glossary.